July 4th Eulogy

Home of the Free and the Brave. My heart lurched as I read these words in celebration of July 4th. Of course, I join all Americans in celebrating Independence Day. But our freedoms are under attack from too many directions right now. Women’s freedom to choose when and if she has children has been torn away by a Supreme Court that does not reflect the values of most Americans. Recent polls show that the majority of Americans do not approve of the court’s decision (52% of Americans and 67%of women). And it’s not only about abortion. The attacks and threats on women’s health care providers mean that all of women’s reproductive health care is endangered. Will we go back 50 years when unmarried women didn’t even have the right to information about birth control? Or to take out a car loan.

There’s a long list of rights at risk. The freedom to vote and for that vote to count is threatened by states who gerrymander, pass restrictive voting rules that disenfranchise minorities and the poor, and undermine the integrity of Boards of Election. Then there’s the right to love and marry the person you love. Will they follow that by threatening the right to equal pay and opportunity? The Supreme Court has even undermined our right to breath fresh air by preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from limiting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

Sadly, this July 4th Imourn the loss of freedom rather than celebrate.

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